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If Alexander was honest with himself, he found Loki to be a bit creepy. The person's mannerisms seemed a bit off from normal and while he wasn't completely still, he was eerily still for a human.

He wasn't sure if it was just this Loki, part of their training, or a complete act to throw him off. While it was an interesting question to help him pass the time on the train, he supposed it didn't much matter.

Alexander glanced out the window of the train, watching stops whiz by at high speed. After watching a slow-motion playback in his mind-space, he was able to determine the train was traveling at just over a hundred miles an hour. It was on the slower end of bullet trains but was probably limited to the fact that the tunnels were pressurized against the outside atmosphere.

The carbon monoxide concentration in the atmosphere was deadly all on its own, but other gases assisted in making Asgard's air far more deadly to humans. He truly wondered why anyone had chosen such an inhospitable world to settle on. Then again, Eden's End wasn't any better and that hadn't seemed to stop people from putting down a research facility.

Soon the train came to a stop and the door opened. Loki stood and gestured for them to follow.

Much like the first terminal, this one was empty as well. Alexander could attribute the first to being near an empty landing platform, but this one should be near the center of power for Katalynn Char. Read chapters at empire

It likely meant it was emptied on purpose for their arrival. Did that bode well for talks, or ill? He wasn't sure.

The wide staircase led to a large open promenade covered by multiple layers of transparent material overhead that both protected the wide open space as well as muted the sounds of the storm still raging outside.

The most striking feature in this area was the wide steps leading up to a building that stretched beyond even Alexander's weird new vision. In front of those steps were men and women arrayed in groups of six. There were no uniforms marking these people but Alexander got the distinct impression that they were soldiers. Likely ones belonging to Katalynn Char.

When his group got within fifty feet of the gathered people, they pressed their hands to their chests and held them there. Going by the hesitation he saw in many of the gathered people, Alexander got the distinct impression that they did not want to do this.

Loki explained the tradition. "This is a standard tradition to pay honor to a Jarl or someone who may soon be a Jarl. Normally, they would disperse after the display, but they do not trust you. Because of that mistrust, they also treat you like an outsider, one who may intend harm to the Lagertha through deceptive means."

Alexander was surprised by the admission, but Loki certainly didn't seem concerned by the display. At least it explained the hesitation he saw.

An echoing bang rang out and all of the soldiers including Loki went to one knee and bowed their heads. Loki grabbed Theo as he went down, forcing the man to do the same, but did not reach out for him.

Alexander had seen the woman at the top of the stairs but had assumed she was another adjunct or someone else for the Lagertha. The main reason for his assumption was the woman lacked anything that showed her status. He hadn't met a single individual in power who didn't at least dress better than the people around them. Even Mingyu had stood out when he first met the man, however, it was only by a slight margin compared to everyone else.

Apart from her stature and physique, this woman could have stood within any of the groups at the bottom of the stairs and he would not have noticed one bit.

As the woman descended the stairs with a long pole or staff in each hand, Loki whispered under his breath without raising his head.

"This is a test to prove if you are worthy of the title of Jarl and to speak with the Lagertha. You must tag her with the staff at least once before she tags you five times. If you fail, you must leave, there will be no further discussion. Hurry, you must enter the circle or forfeit any right to speak on equal terms."

Alexander wanted to ask what all this nonsense was about, but he saw Char quickly striding to the circle. He sighed and stepped forward, his long legs eating up the space until he found himself inside a packed sand circle that he had mistaken for a sandstone decoration of some sort.

As soon as he entered the circle, the gathered people stood and surrounded it while remaining completely quiet.

One of the poles was tossed his way and he caught it in mid-air, looking at it awkwardly. "Is this really necessary?" he asked.

The woman didn't respond, instead, she twirled her weapon and shifted sideways as she started toward him.

Apparently, it was. Alexander could tell the pole was hollow, but it was not padded. Any strike with it was going to hurt.

Alexander would be the first to admit that he was no fighter. Most of the conflicts he found himself in had been resolved by brute forcing his way through them. He could probably do that here, but he didn't want to injure the woman. That meant he needed to show a modicum of restraint.

Instead of gripping the pole in both hands like Katalynn was, Alexander used it more like a one-handed bat.

When she came close, he swung the weapon fast, but not so fast as to injure her with it. Despite his restraint, the weapon whistled through the air.

Katalynn tipped her pole slightly to intercept the attack and Alexander's attempt slipped up and over the woman as she ducked and launched herself toward him with surprising speed.

Her pole cracked against his chest right where his hologram was. Then the woman spun for a second hit.

Alexander quickly realized he underestimated the importance of this ceremony to the Asgardians as well as the opponent in front of him.

He stepped back, avoiding her second strike, and ripped his bamboo-like pole down toward her neck slightly faster than before.

She kept pressuring him and he saw her tactic, she wanted to push him toward the edge of the ring. He assumed stepping outside would mean forfeiting the match. So he stepped forward and past her, taking two more strikes while she artfully dodged two of his own.

If he didn't know better, he would think the woman was using augment gear, but even the best augment gear he had seen was still bulky. This woman's skills were just that, pure skill, likely honed and perfected over a lifetime.

Alexander couldn't afford to fail this test, so when the next strike came in, he grabbed the woman's weapon, bringing his hit count up to four. As soon as he grabbed the pole, he swung down with his own. He assumed the woman would let go and back off, but she yanked on the weapon to bring herself within range and kicked out at him.

Alexander's perception of time slowed to a crawl as he jacked up his processing speed to the max while analyzing what he could do to pull this off. He didn't do this often because it made him feel like he was suffering a severe headache and produced a ton of heat from his body, likely from whatever processors were buried inside it.

The Lagertha's foot was only inches away from connecting to him, while his staff was still a foot away. There was no way it would hit in time. He analyzed taking a step back but realized he wouldn't be able to shift his weight fast enough because she pulled him toward her, if only barely.

That left only one option, he hoped it counted. Before his perception of time returned to normal, Alexander put all his strength into Katalynn's weapon and pushed it down. He had noticed the other end was near her planted leg and if all he needed to do was connect once, he had to hope he was fast enough.

Time slowly sped back up as he brought his perception back to normal. He noticed his action had the almost immediate benefit of pushing the woman back and giving him just slightly more time before her foot connected with him.

He saw surprise in her eyes as her arms shifted to try and adjust to the force he was exerting against them, but even if she were wearing an augment suit, there was no possibility she would have been able to resist Alexander's full strength. The pole slipped through her grip and there was a loud crack as the end smashed into her leg just above the knee only a moment before her kick landed against his torso with enough force to stagger him half a step back.

Damn, this woman is strong!

The woman stumbled back slightly as she landed back on the ground, the broken end of the pole sticking out of her other leg, but she smiled. "It seems we can speak as equals."

This woman is crazy!

Katalynn Char didn't even flinch as a group of women rushed into the circle. One yanked the broken pole out, while another stuck some sort of medical paste on the wound. Alexander noted the wound wasn't deep. He was glad for that since he wasn't sure he had pulled his strength back in time. A third woman bandaged the wound. Once they were finished, they hurried off without so much as a word.

"Come, let us talk." Katalynn Char said as she turned and strode for the stairs as if she hadn't just been wounded less than a minute ago.

Alexander stood there in stunned silence for a bit until Loki and Theo appeared beside him. He idly noted that the other people had filtered out as well, leaving the area quiet.

"Only you will be allowed to speak with Lagertha as an equal, Mr. Kane. I will entertain Mr. Pembrooke until you return. I believe there is much both of us can learn."

Alexander turned toward the two men. Pembrooke looked a bit uncertain, but if they were going to trade secrets and information, maybe Pembrooke might learn something that could help Alexander and Eden's End. It wasn't like Pembrooke could give away much about Alexander's operations, he hadn't been in the position long enough to know anything of note.

"Very well," he said, nodding at the pair before he strode up the stairs behind Katalynn Char.

When the two reached an elevator, Alexander worried that his weight might be too heavy, but then he noted the size of the lift and the weight limit. It seemed that the elevator doubled as a freight elevator as well.

The two stood in the elevator as it silently rose through the enormous tower. He had tried striking up a conversation right away, but the woman simply said they would talk once they were inside her office. At least he had time to figure out how to switch his vision back to normal. The whole greyscale thing was getting on his nerves.

The elevator stopped and opened into a large space decorated tastefully with a few trophies and art displays. He stopped in front of one painting that was beautifully rendered. It depicted an alien vista at either sunset or sunrise, the colors cascaded across the landscape, giving everything inside the painting a dreamlike quality.

"Do you appreciate art?" Katalynn asked as she saw him staring at the piece.

"I appreciate the effort that went into making it, but I never really found any particular appreciation for it until I saw this."

"One of my ancestors made that piece after exposure to the toxic atmosphere outside. They managed to save the poor woman, but her mind was never the same afterward. Still, she was well cared for until her death, and her works are still appreciated to this day. You didn't come here to discuss art, though, so why are you here, Kane?"

He turned away from the piece. Char reminded him of Damien a bit, blunt and straight to the point. "Are all Asgardians as forward as you?" he asked in response.

"Lies and trickery are the tools of the weak. If you have something to say, you should just say it, it saves time for everyone."

"Is that why you tested me and why people despise the Lokis?"

"That is among one of the reasons people look down on them. As for the test, that was a formality and for my own sake. Normally it is a simple tap from each person to signify they are equals unless they are an unknown quantity such as yourself."

"I see," Alexander said. "You also said it was for your own sake?"

"I've never had the chance to fight an alien before," she said without hesitation.

"You heard about that rumor?" He was slightly surprised by that.

"Loki filled me in on that as well as a few other things. Things like having Captain Krieger in your fleet. Did you think I wouldn't notice you working with the man who struck my fleet in the back? It makes me wonder if you were working with him back then as well. Including him is either a bold move on your part or a statement. So which one is it, Kane?" her words held a sharp edge to them.

"A necessity," Alexander admitted. "I assume you learned about Krieger from Loki as well? As for his choice to attack you, I had no part in that, it surprised me as much as it did you. I won't apologize for his actions though. You came into my space, we simply defended ourselves and the Krieger stepped in to help."

The woman tapped her finger on her desk as she stared at him for a moment. She seemed to be mulling over his words. After a while, she spoke again. "I hardly needed Loki to tell me who Krieger was. The STO made it abundantly clear what actions he took that led to his disgrace. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together after that to realize he was the captain of that ghost ship. As for Krieger being here, I'll put the past behind us for now and ask again. Why are you here?"